North Korea Seems to Reject Resumption of Personal Diplomacy with US, According to Reuters

By Michelle Nichols and David Brunnstrom

UNITED NATIONS – On Monday, North Korea appeared to dismiss the potential for a revival of the personal diplomacy that its leader, Kim Jong Un, had with former President Donald Trump, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election on November 5.

Pyongyang’s ambassador to the United Nations, Song Kim, stated at the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York, “Whoever takes office in the U.S., we will only deal with the state entity called the U.S., not the mere administration.” He emphasized that any U.S. administration would have to confront North Korea, which he described as differing from past U.S. perceptions.

A defected North Korean diplomat, speaking from South Korea, recently indicated that North Korea is interested in resuming nuclear negotiations with the United States if Trump is re-elected. This diplomat noted that Pyongyang is developing a new strategy for these negotiations.

During his previous term, which ended in 2021, Trump was known for both aggressive brinkmanship and unprecedented diplomacy with North Korea. The defecting diplomat, Ri Il Gyu, mentioned that North Korea’s diplomats were strategizing in anticipation of a possible Trump victory, aiming to lift sanctions on its weapons programs and remove its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, all while seeking economic assistance.

A summit in Vietnam between Kim Jong Un and Trump in 2019 fell apart over issues related to sanctions and a U.S. demand for North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons. North Korea has largely ignored calls from President Joe Biden’s administration to engage in further discussions.

During a debate in June, Trump remarked that leaders like China’s Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin "don’t respect" Biden and warned that the nation is being driven towards "World War Three." In an August press conference, he claimed that Kim Jong Un "liked me a lot," contrasting that with the current administration, asserting that the U.S. is in significant danger.

Ambassador Song Kim also pointed out that U.S. hostility has compelled North Korea to pursue nuclear capabilities for over 70 years. He quoted Kim Jong Un as saying, “We can choose either dialogue or confrontation, but we should go further in getting ourselves fully prepared for confrontation.”